


Family Ties

by Black_SPD_Ranger



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy, Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Star Trek
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family, Henry Lawson is a very bad man, His assistants, N7 Day, Reunification of Family, not so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27445831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_SPD_Ranger/pseuds/Black_SPD_Ranger
Summary: Miranda Lawson was the latest in a line of clones while Henry Lawson tried to create a legacy.  When he created Oriana, Miranda broke away, took her sister with her, and headed off on her own.  But what happened to the ones that came before her? Henry thought them disposed of.  But what if they weren't.  And what if Miranda and Oriana could find them?
Relationships: Jack | Subject Zero/Oriana Lawson, Jay/Li Lonnie, Miranda Lawson/Male Shepard
Kudos: 1





	Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

> This all started with https://www.deviantart.com/haestromsfm work on his Return of Commander Shepard Mass Effect Andromeda series. I saw Joanna and my brain started working. With Haestromsfm approval, I borrowed his character and wrote my story. So I hope you enjoy, and check out his work on Deviantart.

The Citadel. It was the Central Hub of the Galaxy. Any and every species from two universes have visited there at least once. Jack was no exception. Jack spent most of her time in Auradon with her friends, like Jay, son of Jafar, Li Lonnie, daughter of Li Shang and Fa Mulan, and Shan Yuan, son of Shan Yu. Jack smirked to herself. What was it about her and making friends with Asians? First Lonnie, then Yuan. You could throw Jay in the mix as well since Agrabah was close to the continent of Asia. But despite living in Auradon, or the Auradon Universe as it can also be called, she still visited the Citadel from time to time. 

Jack was visiting today to get a present for the love of her life, her wife, Oriana Lawson. And sometimes she needed a break from her Grissom kids. Oh they were great and all, but the little shits could drive her up a wall sometimes. And Auradon doesn't have everything Jack could want. Like extremely sexy lingerie from Shi'ala's Secret she would love to see Ori in. Jack was not a frills kinda girl. But she knew Ori loved wearing it, and she had to admit, it was fun peeling Ori out of them.

That wasn't the only reason, however. Jack was also there to get an upgrade to her Omni-tool. Why not really? And she could share the upgrades with her friends back in Auradon. She knew Carlos would love them. That's what she loved about Carlos de Vile. Despite him being one of the leading vets in Auradon, he still loved to tinker with technology. Maybe she could pick up something fun for him and Jane, daughter of Fairy Godmother.

Oh, she remembered, and get something for Mal and Ben. It's their anniversary after all. They spent their third with her and Ori on Illium shortly after the Collectors Mission. They held off their fourth until after Earth was saved during the Reaper War. Funny thing was, with them showing up for the final battle with everyone who could fight, telling stories of the past, all that jazz, it was like being home for Jack. And maybe that was Mal and Ben's anniversary present. To spend time with Jack like they were in Auradon. Their fifth anniversary was right after Jack decided to stay in Auradon mostly permanently. She still went back and forth between her home dimension and her parents' dimension. But she lived in Auradon. Mal and Ben's sixth anniversary was spent after Jack and Ori were married but before Kent came home. And now it was time for their seventh. Jack was going to pick up a gag gift and hold off on something special for their tenth. For now, she's gotta be herself.

While the Citadel was a relatively safe place, there were places that someone could get kidnapped in. Someone was waiting, this time, for Jack. She was tall, had short, black hair, some tattoos, and an anger that could match Jack's. The reason for that anger was because she felt abandoned by her father. As she waited, she debated whether or not she should go through with it. Not just kidnapping Jack, but killing her as well. She was not normally a killer, but she wanted to send a message to someone. Someone she hated with all her heart. Someone who stole everything from her just because she was created with biotics. Miranda Lawson.

She was only four years old when her father put her up for adoption. She had been given everything in those four years. Longevity plus being able to heal quickly from her wounds. Enhanced strength. Beauty beyond compare. High intelligence. The only thing she wasn't given was biotics. All this unknown woman wanted was love from a father who only cared about his legacy and nothing else. She never knew that last part. Since she was rejected, he took away her ability to reproduce. She found solace in the arms of an Asari, one who could give the children she longed for, but in the end it didn't matter. Not while Miranda still existed.

This woman had heard that her father was dead and Miranda had inherited his company. He still loved her after all this time. She was the perfect one. She had to be given a message. A message that Jack's dead body would deliver. She was coming to get what was hers. She was coming to get revenge on the woman who took everything from her including her father. This woman steeled her resolve and got ready to do what she felt needed to be done. This woman, who left her lover and daughter behind was ready to take a life to hurt someone who hurt her.

As Jack walked by the "alley", the woman grabbed her and pulled her in. Jack tried to yelp, but the woman covered her mouth. Once in the darkened alley, she pulled out a gun and put it to Jack's head. She said, "You try using your biotics and you're dead."

Jack didn't struggle. But she did start wiggling her left hand. As she did, a small knife started to slip out of her sleeve. The woman had released Jack's mouth when she grabbed her gun. Jack asked, "Before you kill me, can you tell me why I'm being executed?"

She growled out, "I'm sending a message to your lover."

Jack replied, "Oriana? What did she do this time?"

The woman was silent for a moment, then responded, "Who? No, I mean your lover, Miranda Lawson."

Jack grit her teeth and let out a sound that would scare a lion. "I'm going to kill both of them!"

The woman was confused. "Kill both of whom?"

Jack replied with a growl in her voice, "Jen and Jon Shepard! Jon especially since he's married to that Cheerleader bitch! One dumb joke from a video game and I'm cursed forever as being Lawson's girlfriend!"

The woman was even more confused than ever. "Wait. You're saying you're not Miranda Lawson's lover?"

Jack groaned. "No! I'm her younger sister's wife."

The woman gasped. "Younger sister? You mean there was another one after her?"

Jack nodded. "Oriana. She was supposed to be Henry Lawson's perfect creation. Miranda stole her when she escaped from her father. I met her when she was twelve and, except for a few years, we've been together ever since."

The woman couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it. "You're lying. Just trying to save your own skin."

Jack groaned. "Fuck it all. Look, this can go one of three ways. One, you surrender, I take you with me to meet Miranda's younger sister, no one gets hurt. Two, I'm merciful and knock you on your ass. Three, I kill you. Do you want to surrender or not?"

The woman stuttered a bit. How did this woman think there was room to negotiate? She was about to die. What was she planning? The woman replied, "I think your out of your fucking mind."

Jack sighed. "Well you caught me on a good day." With that, Jack flicked her wrist fast, letting go of the dagger. It flung point first into the woman's foot hard causing her to cry out in pain, her foot having been nailed to the floor. Her gun hand flew up and she started falling backwards. Jack stepped forward, spun around fast, swung her right fist out, and clocked the woman in the jaw sending her sprawling on her back, the gun flying out of her hand. Jack now covered her body with her biotics and was ready to really hurt the woman if she tried anything. However the face that greeted her caused her eyes to open wide. The short hair and tattoos made her pause. She asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

The woman groaned as she did her best to sit up. "Joanna Drake. Though I should be Joanna Lawson. I was until a better biotic version came along."

Jack sighed. She held her hand up and a biotic bubble surrounded Joanna. "This is gonna hurt a bit." She lifted her right hand and her bubble floated up. As it did, Joanna's foot with the blade still in it came out of the ground. Joanna cried out since it felt like the hilt was about to go through her foot. Jack held up her left hand and Joanna's gun flew into it.

Joanna frowned, looking at Jack. "So what are you going to do with me?"

Jack smiled at her, pointing the gun at her. Then she spun it around her finger, deactivating it and attaching it to her belt. "I'm taking you home to meet my wife, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

Joanna looked confused. "Why would you do that?"

Jack shook her head, never losing her smile. "Because you need an education." With that, Jack pulled out a metal device and pointed it behind Joanna. She turned to look and saw a blue doorway open up. Jack added, "It's gonna feel weird the first time, but you'll get used to it."

Joanna looked at Jack like she was mad as she walked towards it, dragging Joanna along in the bubble. Jack was right, though. Joanna felt every cell in her body pull forward when she was pulled through. Once on the other side, she looked at her body, seeing if anything was missing. She then looked at her foot and saw the knife was gone, almost as if it had never been there in the first place. She still felt some numbness, but other than that everything was healed. She looked up at Jack and saw her placing her blade back inside her jacket sleeve. Joanna asked, "How the hell did you do that?"

Jack chuckled. "Mom developed the technology. As you go through with a non-life threatening injury that can easily be taken care of, the computer opening the door can transport the foreign object and close the wound while transporting a pain reliever into the body. If the foreign object has DNA from one of my family members, that object is transported into the hands of the family member."

Joanna shook her head, confusion still all over her face, and said, "I still don't understand, but whatever. Now what?"

Jack smirked. She tapped buttons on a wall pad and said, "Ori we have a guest."

Ori replied, "Bring them to the dining room." Her voice had a bit of a sing-song tone to it.

Jack chuckled. "Be right there, love. Just be prepared for a shock."

Ori chuckled in response, "Jack, I know it's Jon and Miranda."

Jack frowned. "Ori… Jon and Miranda ain't showing up for another fifteen minutes."

Ori paused for a couple moments then replied, "Who is it then?"

"I'll show you when I get to the dining room," Jack replied.

Ori responded, "Alright Jack. I'll see you in a moment."

Jack nodded and stepped away from the console. She stepped up to it again and hit a few buttons. In a moment, the packages she had brought with her disappeared.

Joanna asked, "Did your transporters bring them here as well?"

Jack chuckled. "Nah. I picked them up when you weren't looking." With that, they headed towards the dining room.

Once there, Joanna looked and saw a small table with six chairs around it. The table and chairs were intricately carved, looking like something out of a Disney movie. There were beautiful plates and silverware at each chair and a woman standing nearby in a beautiful purple dress, also looking like something from a Disney movie. When Joanna got a good look at Oriana's face, she could see the Lawson features, but she didn't have any of Joanna's enhancements. Her breasts were smaller, her face was softer, and, from what she could tell, her ass wasn't as pronounced. But she could still see the intelligence in her eyes. So Ori received some of the enhancements, but not all of them.

Oriana looked at Joanna in surprise and asked, "Jack? Who's this?"

Jack shrugged a bit and said, "Said her name was Joanna Drake and she's your and Miranda's older sister."

Oriana came up to the bubble and placed a hand on it. "I can see the resemblance. Oh my god. How many of us are out there?"

Joanna growled out, "How should I know?"

That was when a voice from another doorway said, "Seven."

All three looked at the speaker. "Mum?" Oriana fully turned to Missus Reynolds, looking at her confused.

Missus Reynolds nodded and said, "I think we should wait for your sister to arrive before I go into the story."

The three women nodded slowly. Jack planted Joanna down in a chair and used her biotics to lightly restrain her. Joanna didn't complain. Mister and Missus Reynolds came in and sat down.

Soon Miranda and Jon came into the dining room. Miranda saw Joanna sitting at the table and the first words out of her mouth were, "What the hell?"

Joanna tried to stand up, but was held down by the biotic restraints. Still, she roared, "There's the bitch who stole everything from me!"

Miranda now had a look of anger on her face. "I didn't steal anything. I don't even know who you are."

Joanna spat back, "LIAR! Once you were created with your biotics father discarded me like I was nothing!"

Miranda's eyes went wide. "What?"

Joanna looked away and growled out, "Like you didn't know."

Missus Reynolds slammed her hand on the table and said, "Enough! Both of you!"

Joanna gave Missus Reynolds an evil look and asked, "And who are you, Old Woman?"

Before Oriana could defend her mother, she said, "I was the first, actually."

Everyone stopped and gave Missus Reynolds a wide eyed look. Oriana was the first to respond. She gulped and said slowly, "The first what, mum?"

Missus Reynolds smiled at her adopted daughter and said, "The first Lawson clone tossed aside for a better one."

Miranda gasped. "I don't believe it. I've been looking for the first since I was high ranking enough in Cerberus. Her name was Augusta."

Missus Reynolds nodded. "Augusta means great. I was his first successful creation. But the next year I was neutered and given away when he was able to give the next clone the ability to heal from wounds and age slower. When I was eighteen, I legally changed my name to Amanda because it was a goal."

Oriana looked down. "Worthy of love."

Miranda shook her head. "How did you find out about Oriana?"

Missus Reynolds smiled gently. "To be honest, it was accidental. My husband and I wanted to adopt for a while now, I was twenty-seven at the time. I had always known I was a Lawson, but given away, so when I discovered Oriana had been brought to an adoption agency by Miranda Lawson, I decided I should watch over her. Like you, I wanted her to have a normal life. I'm happy to say, I did a good job. And Jack has been a great partner for my daughter. For my sister."

Miranda smiled. "You're more right than I know."

The group chuckled at that.

Joanna looked at Missus Reynolds and asked, "You did say there were seven of us? Who are the other three? And what made them unworthy?"

Missus Reynolds, Amanda, replied, "They were each stepping stones. I was the first. I was proof of concept. Clara, Illustrious, was the first to be genetically modified. She was given longevity and healing. She lasted two years before having her tubes tied and sent off. Clara never found romantic love, I'm afraid, but she did find a family. She wanted to give a young girl who had lost her mother something she didn't have. She became one of the first to join the Blue Suns. She's been in many fights and survived all of them. Also, she started her own faction of Blue Suns that made the organization look good since they performed humanitarian gestures. In fact, when Zaeed Masani killed his former partner, she gave him control of the Blue Suns back. He didn't want it, but took it anyway as he worked in the background and put her in charge in the foreground."

Jon looked thoughtful. "I wonder if Black Wolf or Oracle knows."

Amanda shrugged. "They should. One of Oracle's former operatives, Mags, worked with her for years. Florence, Prosperity, was given strength. When her DNA stabilized with the strength enhancements, he cut her loose. That took two years also. Flo's a professional underground fighter working for Helen Hewes on Illium. She gets a big thrill from fighting on Omega though. Like Hel, she has a Quarian girlfriend."

Jack looked confused. "I thought Hel got married."

Amanda chuckled. "Probably. After her was Helena, Light, who was given beauty. In fact, she shares some common features with you, Miranda, and you, Joanna."

Joanna frowned. "Let me guess, she became a beauty queen."

Amanda shook her head. "No actually. She dyed her hair blonde, met a rich mogul, and married him. She leads a quiet life out of the spotlight. And then there's Joanna, here, who was given intelligence. She was the favorite until element zero was discovered three years after her creation. And don't let the media fool you on when it was discovered. Private enterprises found it before it was ever released to society. But Joanna here left her Asari wife and daughter behind for a mission of revenge."

Joanna looked up at Miranda with all the hatred she could muster. "And I would have given you a strong warning by killing who I thought was your girlfriend. But she had a bloody knife in her jacket sleeve. I mean, who fucking does that?"

Jack shook her head. "Me and my wife Ori when we go visit our home dimension. You don't know what fucking creepazoid is out there."

Miranda was still in a bit of shock. "My what…?" She then turned to Jon. Jon held his hands up and started to back away slowly.

Jack smiled and said, "I'll hold 'im, you punch."

Miranda nodded. "This will only hurt a lot, Jon."

Captain Jonathan Shepard, hero of the war and defender of all species, a man who showed no fear in the face of danger, turned from these two women and ran. They gave chase. After a few minutes of yelling and screaming, and some beating of Shepard, they come back. When the three arrived back in the dining room, Mister and Missus Reynolds, Oriana and Joanna were laughing hard. Jack and Miranda took a bow, while Jon rubbed his stomach. 

After the laughter died down, Jack put a hand on her hip, cocked it to one side and said, "Now to deal with you." She looked at Joanna as she spoke. "You done fucked up leaving your wife and daughter behind."

Joanna looked down and away. "I didn't think I was coming back. No scenario I crafted allowed for it."

Jack sighed. "Except for the one where I fought back."

Joanna looked up at Jack and laughed derisively. "I had that planned out as well. What I didn't anticipate was you carrying a bladed weapon. I just didn't expect it in this day and age."

Oriana smiled. "You'll find a lot of them here in Auradon."

Joanna nodded.

Jon looked at Amanda and asked, "Why did Henry Lawson allow you all to live? I would have thought he would have disposed of you once your usefulness was at an end."

Amanda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly as she spoke. "Henry Lawson would have preferred it that way. One of the reasons we were neutered to begin with. But the employee he gave each one of us to couldn't do it. So she provided a faked video to show him our disposal and then put us up in different orphanages."

Joanna looked at Amanda and asked, "We were supposed to be disposed of?"

Amanda nodded. "Our father didn't care about any of us."

Joanna looked down again. "And I almost made the biggest mistake in the galaxy because I thought he loved Miranda more than me."

Miranda moved up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He didn't. He criticized everything I did. He didn't give me his company. I had to fight for it. But endorsements from the heroes of the Reaper War helped the Council to see that I was trustworthy enough to run our father's company."

Joanna looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

Miranda nodded.

Jon looked at Amanda and asked, "How did you find out about all of this?"

Amanda smiled sadly. "I was twenty-three and had been married for half a year when we decided to adopt. When we found Oriana, I noticed how similar she looked to me. I hired a couple of information brokers to discover how she came to be in the orphanage. When I found out she was dropped off by Miranda Lawson, I hacked their systems and deleted the information. That's when I started my search for the others. After finding Clara, I used her to find the others."

Jon nodded with a smile. "Impressive."

Miranda was looking thoughtful. She had been doing math in her head the entire time, but only in the last couple minutes was she doing some hard numbers. Finally, she smiled and said, "I think it's time to bring the Lawson sisters home."

Joanna frowned. "Even me? After I tried to kill your sister-in-law?"

Miranda smiled. "Yes. The same sister-in-law you tried to kill, is the one who taught me that everyone who wants it, deserves a second chance. And I believe you want a second chance at a family. Am I right?"

Joanna looked down again. "I don't know. Do you know what it feels like to be rejected by your own blood?"

Miranda nodded. "I do. Our father was ready to discard me for Oriana. Rather than letting him do to her what he did to me, I stole Ori at the age of sixteen, and ran away with her to Cerberus. I wanted her to have the life I never got. I just find it odd that while I wanted her to grow up and find a nice man to settle down with, she instead chose a foul mouthed… tattooed up girl to marry."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Nice recovery on not calling me an ex-convict. After all, it was Cerberus who put me in jail."

Joanna looked up at Jack confused then turned to Miranda also confused.

Miranda then rolled her eyes and waved her off. "A story for another time. Regardless, Oriana's happy and that's all that's important to me. Now what's important to me is bringing my family back together."

Joanna smiled a bit. "Y'know, if you can pull this off, then yes. I want to be part of the family."

Jack folded her arms across her chest and asked, "You just want the money, doncha?"

Joanna sighed and shook her head. "I don't care about money. I care about the family I lost. All I ever wanted was to be loved. Loved by a father I thought wanted me. Until biotics became a thing. But apparently he didn't care."

Miranda sighed. "No. He didn't. He treated me cruelly, treated everything I did as never being good enough. The love I wanted never showed up. It was one of the reasons I took Ori from him. I wanted her to have a normal life away from him."

Oriana squatted next to Joanna and took her hand. "I didn't even know I had an older sister until I was nineteen. Now I have six older sisters. And one of them happens to be my mother. I'm more excited than you know. So I'm going to take a chance and say I believe you."

Joanna turned her head and looked Oriana in the eyes. Eyes that were so similar to hers and yet so different. As she looked she noticed something. "Who hurt you?"

Oriana smiled. Seeing into someone's soul must be a family trait. That or Auradon is starting to affect her. Oriana believed it was Auradon. Oriana smiled and nodded. "Miranda did it. She didn't know she did, but she did it."

Joanna turned her head to Miranda. Miranda held her hands up in defense. "What she's leaving out was that it was Jack over there who had attacked the organization I worked for. We had a bounty on her head. She was captured and held for five years. I didn't know Jack was with my sister. That was what hurt Oriana."

Joanna chuckled and looked down. "Mind if I ask you all a dumb question?"

Amanda nodded. "Of course."

Joanna looked up at them all and asked, "What have you done to me? Did you give me drugs or something?"

Jack smiled. "Nah. Magic spell, maybe, but that's a side effect of living here in Auradon."

Joanna frowned. "Magic is just science we have yet to explain."

Jack nodded. "I won't argue with you on that one. But everyone who comes here seems to have their good qualities enhanced when they do. I know, good and evil are subjective, but there are universal good and universal evil out there. Helping someone of your own species but ignoring other species is still good because you're helping someone. You come here and then you want to help everyone."

Joanna nodded. "That… actually makes sense. And me wanting a family?"

Jack smiled. "Means you're willing to accept your family, faults and all."

Joanna sighed. "I wonder if my mate will see it that way."

An Asari, in a red, somewhat revealing red dress pop walked up from the hallway and said, "Of course I do."

Joanna's eyes went wide. "Xanossha? What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"

Xanossha moved up and hugged Joanna. Jack smiled and said, "While we waited for Ori's folks I called Oracle. Thanks to her and Dad, she's been here the whole time."

Joanna nodded. "Xan, are… I mean…"

Xan smiled. "I was upset, Jo. I mean I was real mad that you'd leave me for some stupid vendetta. But if you're willing to forgive your family, how can I not forgive you?"

Jack's biotics disappeared and Joanna hugged her bondmate. Joanna was softly crying as they hugged.

Oriana was tearing up herself as she handed a datapad to Miranda. Miranda looked at it and smiled. She signed it before setting it down in front of Joanna. Joanna pulled back and started reading it. She looked up at the two sisters and asked, "You're serious?"

Oriana smiled wide. "Yes."

Miranda nodded. "We were serious about adding you to the family and the family company. I just don't want you to stress out over any responsibilities being part of it entails."

Xan chuckled. "Seriously? She's second in command at Lawson Biomedical's top competitors."

The two looked at Joanna in surprise. Miranda looked angry, ready to blow up at Joanna.

Joanna held her hands up and said, "In my defense, I quit that job a week before I steeled my nerves to attempt to kill Jack."

She heard a growl behind her. Jack smiled and said, "Easy Fireball. I've forgiven her."

The large black dog with a white skull looking face, long horns, what looked like ribs on its back, bones around its ankles and two pointed tails looked at Joanna harshly. It snorted fire then nodded. It moved up to Oriana and rubbed its head against her leg before moving next to Jack and sitting on its hind legs. 

Xan and Joanna's eyes went wide. Joanna asked, "What the hell is that?"

Jack smiled and said, "This is Fireball my Houndeth. He's a Pokemon. He can get… a little… overprotective after I had been kidnapped for five years. Hell, I hadn't seen him in seven due to my own feelings. So don't let him frighten you too much."

Fireball smiled and opened his mouth letting some fire out.

Joanna gulped. "Uh… nice boy."

Fireball snickered then barked. 

Jack nodded. "Yeah, she's lucky Psycho didn't show up. He can get mean."

Xan asked, "You can understand him?"

Jack chuckled. "Sure." She held out a brown and white ball. "This is his ancient ball. It's registered to my trainer ID. It helps me understand my Pokemon's moods and intentions without actually translating them."

Joanna chuckled. "I lost track of things when they said magic. I'm just nodding and smiling now."

Jack frowned. "Hey! This technology furthered wormhole research in my parents home dimension!"

Oriana snickered at that. "She was allowed to give the technology to the scientist researching wormholes so she takes a bit of responsibility for helping with the research."

In the background, Jon looked at Mister Reynolds and said, "I feel like we should be sipping beer over an open flame grill and grunt a lot to prove we're men."

Mister Reynolds laughed. "Imagine feeling that way with just three women around."

The two men chuckled at their joke.

Amanda asked, "And what are you two gals squawking about?"

Mister Reynolds smiled and replied, "Nothing my dear. But I do find it interesting that three of the sisters became gay while three didn't and the final one became asexual while not being aromantic."

Oriana smiled. "I can't answer for my sisters, but Jack saved me. Just watching her in action made me excited. But, I think what made me fall for her was that she was always there for me. Birthday parties, even though she didn't celebrate them, movie nights, marathoning Disney Movies with me, ok probably enemy reconnaissance, but still, she was there for me. She brought me here to this magical world and helped make my dreams come true. I love her for that."

Jack chuckled. "Magic had a small role to play with it as well. The magic of this place converted our love into true love. So if a bad guy puts a spell on her, I can free her from it. Our hearts are connected now."

Xan smiled wide. "That's so romantic."

Oriana nodded. "It's so beautiful."

Miranda smiled now. "What about you two?"

Joanna frowned. "Well I wouldn't say our coming together was that romantic."

Xan chuckled. "Not in the least."

Joanna sighed. "We were both being rebellious."

Xan nodded. "My mother never wanted me to be with a Human."

Joanna added, "My parents didn't want me to be with an alien. They were… xenophobic to say the least."

Xan smiled. "We're not the first Human/Asari relationship to deal with these issues. A friend of mine was married to a Human woman whose parents hated aliens. Both were soldiers and were deployed during the Reaper War. Both made it out, thankfully. Their daughter and her Asari side of the family also made it out. They were lucky."

Joanna smiled and squeezed Xan's hand. "Not everyone was. Anyways, we found out our respective stories and decided to start a relationship based on that. And yes, I've had female lovers in the past. I like what I like and I'm not ashamed of who I am."

Miranda smiled. "Never. Never be ashamed of who you love. I know there are some small sect of Humanity that says if you're not omnisexual, you're xenophobic, but everyone has their preferences. Male, female, gay, straight, trans, Human, Alien, it's all semantics."

Joanna chuckled. "Looks like we're already off to a good familial relationship."

Oriana giggled. "She wasn't like that for me at first. But she came around eventually."

Miranda held up her hands defensively. "I had hoped she would have the life I never could. Starting a family and everything. I just never thought it would be with a foul mouthed, tattooed up woman."

Oriana looked over at Jack and added, "I could have done without the extra tattoos myself."

Jack rolled her eyes. "I got them to numb the pain of being locked up for six months with no contact from my family."

Oriana giggled. "You could've still asked your mother to get rid of them instead of… what you did do. And please don't try and explain."

Jack grumbled, but she didn't argue.

A couple moments later, a male voice asked, "Can we come in now?"

Jack smiled, recognizing the voice. "Sure , dad, come on in."

A tall man in a black suit with a green dress shirt and black tie walked in carrying a small Asari baby in his arms. He had short brown hair, a brown mustache, wore glasses, and had two silver rings, one on each middle finger. The right ring had a green stone while the left ring had a yellow stone. Both rings seemed to emanate power. The baby was in a pink onesie and was sleeping in his arms. She looked adorable.

Xan walked over and took the baby from Jack's father's arms and smiled. She said, "Thank you for holding her, Mister Ranor."

He smiled. "You're welcome. And you can call me Reginald."

Jack smiled at her dad. "Decided to come along when you grabbed them?"

Reginald chuckled. "A little. Your mother wanted me to give you this." He then handed her a PADD.

Jack took it and started reading. She smiled wide. Oriana looked at her and asked, "What is it, Jack?"

Jack turned her head and said, "Two bits of good news. First, mom's found a way to help me knock up my wife."

Miranda rolled her eyes, but Joanna and Oriana laughed. Oriana said, "Well that's great news for her."

Jack nodded and smiled warmly at Oriana. She then turned to look at Miranda and said, "And mom has found a way to… reverse… fix… I don't know what the hell it's called, but fix your infertility."

Miranda gasped in surprise. "I didn't think that was possible."

Jon moved up behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders. "How can she do this?"

Jack looked down at the PADD again. "A mixture of Storm Wolf, Draconian, Starfleet and Time Lord technology. Here." She handed the PADD over to Miranda. 

Miranda took it and started reading. She had looked at this technology before, so it wasn't difficult to use. She read paragraph after paragraph of the techniques Doctor Kitana Ranor would use to allow her ovaries to start working and open her womb for her husband, Captain Jonathan Shepard. As she read, a small smile creeped across her lips. The smile grew larger as she read. When she reached the bottom of the proposal she was showing her pearly whites. She looked up and handed the PADD over to Reginald. "Please tell your wife that I accept her proposal and am willing to try."

Reginald smiled wide and took it. Jon took a breath and let it out slowly. "Are you sure, Miranda?" he asked.

Miranda turned and wrapped her arms around him. "It's worth the risk, Jon. It's my body. This is my choice. I want to be a mother. Naturally. I want this."

Jon nodded and kissed her on the forehead. Oriana moved up to Jack and wrapped her arms around her wife. Jack responded in kind. Joanna saw this and smiled. She stood up from her seat to wrap her arms around the family she started. Amanda just smiled. Her husband did walk up from behind her and out his hands on her shoulders.

Reginald smiled. He said to himself, 'I do like the mushy scenes in movies.' He then looked at Amanda and said, "I contacted Oracle and the Shadow Broker. They've reached out to the other Lawson sisters. They would be willing to meet with you, but it has to be on their terms."

Amanda nodded. "I think that can be arranged. We can go to each one individually…"

Miranda held up her hand. "I think we should split up. Amanda, it's a good idea to take this slowly, but if they're anything like us… making them wait will cause them to second guess everything. Besides, November Seventh is coming up soon and I'd like to introduce my entire family."

Joanna asked, "What's so important about November Seventh?"

Jack chuckled and said, "N7 day. It's to honor the crews of the Normandy. So many sacrificed their lives to save the universe, but the crews of the Normandy brought the galaxy together."

Joanna nodded. "Alright, that makes sense then."

Amanda nodded and smiled. "Of course, Miranda." She turned to Reginald and asked, "Where are the girls?"

Reginald reached behind his back, into his pocket dimension, and pulled out three datapads. "Two are on Omega while the third is on Terra Nova."

Jack nodded. "Ok. Ok, I think we can do this. I'm gonna grab my friends and we'll head to Omega."

Miranda nodded. "I'll go with you. Perhaps Amanda and her husband can join Jon and I."

Amanda smiled. "We'd love to."

Joanna nodded. "Guess that leaves me and my family to head to Terra Nova."

Xan frowned. "From what I heard, they are very xenophobic. I mean, I can understand after the Batarian and Reaper attacks, but still… I don't know if it's safe for me and my daughter."

Joanna frowned. "They'll accept you or some asses are going to be kicked."

Xan smiled and nodded. She kissed Joanna. Oriana and Miranda smiled at this. Jack leaned back a bit. She looked to Jon and Mister Reynolds and grunted. The two men laughed.

***

Captain Jonathan Shepard stood in the command center of the SSV Normandy SR-2. It was the same ship it had been during the war, but it didn't feel the same. Garrus was with his wife, Doctor Chloe Michel, on Jess's ship the Midway, Tali was with her wife, Staff Lieutenant Brighid Shepard on Admiral Jennifer Shepard's ship, the Saratoga. Jen also has Lieutenant Commander Samantha Traynor, her wife, with her. Grunt and his squad, Arlak Company, are Jen's Krogan contingent. Major Kaiden Alenko and his husband Staff Commander Seanan Shepard are teaching at Jack's school, Grissom Academy. Major Ashley Williams, Krogan Ambassador, lives with her bondmate, Doctor Liara T'Soni a.k.a. the Shadow Broker, on the Citadel. Doctor Karen Chakwas is an Admiral and running Alliance Medical. Many of those that had gone with them on the suicide run are busy with what they had been doing before and during the Reaper War. 

Jon's crew now consisted of many different species, Admiral Jennifer Shepard's orders, but they didn't feel the same. Only Joker and his wife EDI are constant now. Well them and Miranda. But that doesn't mean Jon doesn't appreciate his new crew. His Salarian science officer, Turian weapons specialist, Krogan and Batarian Marines, Asari Doctor, Quarian and Geth Engineers, Rachni Soldier as a Comms specialist and so on. Jon was taking time to get to know the new members of his crew, but they hadn't come close to the old Normandy crew… yet.

But, for now, Jon just stared at the Galaxy Map, watching as they drew closer to their destination… Omega.

Miranda paced nervously around the C.I.C. She was going to be meeting a sister she didn't know existed. She didn't know Joanna existed either... until today. Now she was going to meet more and she didn't know how to handle it.

Jon finally stepped away from his station and moved up to Miranda. He held her close and said, "It'll be ok, Miranda."

She sighed in his arms. "I hope so. I want a family, Jon. I love having Oriana as my sister. Now I'm about to get more. I never thought this possible, Jon. Not for someone like me."

Jon pulled back and asked, "What do you mean 'Someone like you'?"

Miranda looked up at him, tears at the corners of her eyes, trying to fall, but being ordered not to, and replied, "All my faults, Jon. The mistakes I made. Working for Cerberus, keeping the Bounty on Jack, thinking I knew better than my sister on how to run her life, when in reality, she knew best… need I go on?"

Jon chuckled and sighed at that. "Need I remind you, you saved the universe not once, but twice, Cerberus was both a good and bad organization which you LEFT when the evil outweighed the good, and while you may not like your sister's choices, you still supported her. So don't give me that you don't deserve some happiness. You deserve this just as much as Ori."

Miranda looked at him in surprise. "I… I never thought about it like that. Ori does deserve this. Thank you, Jon."

Jon chuckled and then kissed Miranda on top of her forehead. "You can really drive a man to drink, Miranda. Why don't you go check on our passengers?"

Miranda smiled and nodded to him. She pulled back and headed towards the lift, taking it down towards the mess level.

In the mess hall, Yuan and Jay were putting on a show for the off duty officers. They would slash swords at each other while performing acrobatic moves. Then, without warning, Jack joined in with her two swords, fending off both boys. They bantered a bit, picking on each other, but it was all in fun.

As Miranda walked up. The two boys swung their swords at Jack, at the same time, but she leaned backwards at the knees, almost looking like she was performing the limbo. The two swords clanged against one another before the two spun apart. Jack came back up, only to find a Chinese jian at her throat. She turned her head to Lonnie standing to her left holding her sword out. Jack smiled at her best friend and tapped her sword away. Lonnie spun until she was back to back with Jack. She made a sound and Gil jumped in. The three boys came after the two girls, but the girls held them off. Jay made a sound and the boys stepped back. The call for a salute was made. The five used their swords to salute each other and they received a thunderous applause. 

Jack laughed as she hugged Lonnie first, then Jay, Yuan and Gil. Jack smiled and said, "We did not miss a beat."

Gil smiled wide and pointed at Jack, "You are amazing with that two sword technique."

Jack chuckled. "Many years of training. Damn, I needed this."

The others laughed. Lonnie rubbed Jack's head and headed over to get some water. One of the men sitting at the table cheered her and handed her a cup. The others came over and were all handed water. Jack looked over her shoulder and said, "Hey Cheerleader. What's up?"

Miranda looked a little flustered. "Came to see how you all were doing."

Amanda smiled. "Oh quite well. My daughter-in-law was just showing off her sword fighting skills."

Miranda nodded, "I can see that, yes. Still hard to believe, sometimes, you live in a land of swords and magic, Jack."

Jack laughed. "No matter how many times you visit your sister there?"

Miranda blushed. "Your home is a technological marvel. It makes it easy to forget."

Oriana came up and hugged Miranda before moving up to Jack and smuggling into her arms. Oriana was smiling wide and said, "Well Auradon is still the land of my dreams. And I love living there."

Jay held up his cup and said, "I'll drink to that." Lonnie, Gil, Yuan and Jack all held up their cups, saluting the comment.

Miranda chuckled. Jon was right. Oriana needed this. And maybe… just maybe… she did too. She looked at Jack's close, personal friends and how they laughed and joked with each other. They always included Oriana in their conversations. She was one of them as much as her wife, Jack.

Miranda wished she had this growing up. Now that she thought about it… Miranda walked up and asked, "Ori, I never thought to ask this question before, but, were these your only friends growing up?"

Ori giggled, "No, Miri. I had lots of friends growing up. But these people… these wonderful, wonderful people, they stayed by my side for three years while looking for my true love. They accepted me into their circle and held me close. Mal and Evie took me under their wing, Doug, Carlos and Jane kept my mind off of losing Jack, these four took care of me, Uma and Harry took me around Auradon from time to time… Miri, the people from Auradon were like a family to me. They still are, in fact."

Jack chuckled. "Funny how it all really started with four children of Disney Villains and one kid from another universe."

Lonnie smiled at that and pulled Jack into a sideways hug.

Miranda nodded. "And it seems your bonds with them are still strong."

Jack nodded and smiled. "Yeah. I honestly thought they'd forget me a year after I went missing. Hell even if I hadn't, I'd still have left to go save people in different universes and still I would have thought they would have forgotten me. Instead, my friends still cared about me and that strengthened our bonds even more. Jay and Lonnie are now professional Tourney players, Gil's second mate on the A.I.L. Revenge, and Yuan's chief of the Royal Guard and yet they still come running to help a biotics teacher when she asks. And it's not just one way. I come running when any of them need help. So yeah, our bonds are real strong."

Miranda nodded as she looked at these individuals from a universe so different from her own. They were technically technologically backwards, but they had magic, and they were able to adapt so well to everything around them… Miranda admired them and again wished she had friends like them growing up. 

Jay smiled at her, realizing where her thoughts were headed and walked up to her. He pulled her into a hug. "We accept you too, Missus Shepard."

Miranda was taken by surprise by his actions then she melted into his embrace, the tears she was trying to hold back now falling freely. Lonnie and Gil came up and hugged her as well. Yuan just smiled, watching this. 

Lonnie said, "Should have warned you, Yuan's not a huggy feely kinda guy. Except with Jack. But that's a whole other story."

Jack laughed. "I can kick his ass without Biotics."

The friends chuckled at that comment. EDI's voice came over the loudspeakers, "We are approaching Omega."

Miranda looked up and said, "Thank you, EDI."

Oriana looked at Miranda and asked, "Nervous?"

Miranda nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe."

Jack smiled. "You have the easy part. Talking with the current head of the Blue Suns. We gotta talk with a fighter."

Miranda rolled her eyes, but she still smiled. "Should be right up your alley if you can kick the big guy's ass." The group chuckled again.

Oriana was smiling. She remembered something she saw in an old show and said, "I swear, the hot I always feel from you guys is genuine and not just trying to cover up some secret pain."

Yuan nodded to her. "It is genuine. Us Villain Kids grew up with so little. We had to take to survive and if ever had something we treasured, our parents would take it away from us. Being able to do this, be here for our friends, no longer considered evil because of our parents, that gives us joy."

Jay nodded. "We don't laugh all the time, like those guys who put on Robin Hood plays, but we do when we're happy. And we're always happy when a friend asks us to go on an adventure with them."

Jack smiled, nodding to her best friend's husband. "And this, Cheerleader, is why I love my friends as much as I do."

Miranda smiled. She took a deep breath and said, "Let's do this, then."

Jack and her friends nodded as they prepared to head off into Omega. 

Jack and her friends walked up to a place with lots of noise. A bouncer told them that the fight had already begun and betting would have to be done later. Jack let him know they were here to see one of the fighters and he knew exactly who they were. He let them in and they came up to the put, a cube cut out of the ground for two fighters to beat the crap out of each other. They saw a human woman facing off against a batarian woman. Just looking at the batarian’s face, you could tell she was a woman by how her nose was smaller, how closer her eyes were, her lips were bigger and more human-like feminine, and a thinner head. But it was much simpler than that with both of them being naked. The human had brunette hair, was a half foot taller than her opponent, muscular and features similar to Ori’s. They were fighting hard, a good back and forth brawl with blood flying everywhere.

Jack smiled as she watched. “Damn, Ori. This sister fights good.”

Jay watched and said, “I’m surprised she has no tattoos. I mean, Joanna has them, why wouldn’t Florence?”

A nervous quarian girl replied, “She likes showing off her body. If she had tattoos, she would be covering herself up.”

Oriana smacked Jack on her chest and said, “See.”

Jack laughed and asked, “Are you, Sesa’Veer?”

She nodded, “Nar Xaera. I… never completed my pilgrimage. If it wasn’t for Flo, I would have died. But… I hate when she fights.”

Lonnie asked, “Why is that? If that’s what she loves doing, wouldn’t you want to support her?”

Sesa frowned and said, “I don’t like it when she gets hurt. And…”“

Gil nodded and added, “The aftermath.”

Sesa looked down, ringing her hands. Oriana walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sesa, I know this won’t help, but if she loves you, she will do things only for you that she wouldn’t for anyone else she plays with.”

Sesa looked at Oriana and said, “She… she always uses a toy with her opponents, but not with me. She kisses me, but not opponents.”

Jack smiled. “Reminds me of Mel Hart.”

Sesa turned her head to look at Jack. “Who’s that?”

Jack chuckled and said, “Sorry. She’s the father of my team’s Red Ranger.”

Sesa nodded and asked, “Asari?”

Oriana shook her head. “Human. Much like Flo.”

Sesa nodded and turned to see a beaten and bloody Flo knock out her batarian opponent. The crowd calls for more and Flo obliges. Sesa turned away and sighed. “There she goes.”

Yuan said, “We will wait until she is done with you before we talk to her.”

Sesa looked up at him in surprise. “How did you know?”

Yuan smirked. “We can tell. Show her your love this time, not how you feel like second helpings.”

Sesa smiled and said, “I… I think I will.”

Elsewhere, Miranda and Amanda were getting ready for a long, drawn out battle of words with Chloe. Chloe was sitting at the bar drinking alcohol sitting in her Blue Suns armor. She was talking with Mags, the Alliance Liaison to the Mercenary groups before Mags noticed the group and smiled and headed off.

Chloe waved them over and the two women, with their husbands behind them, walked up. Chloe held up her hand and said, “Chloe Chambers. Nice to meet you.”

Miranda took it and shook it. “Any relation to Kelly Chambers?”

Chloe nodded. “I’m her step-mother. Her father and I fell in love but… well let’s just say the thought of sex never appealed to me. But I wanted Kelly to have a mother, so we married.”

Jon smiled and said, “Wow. That’s actually awesome.”

Chloe nodded and drank her drink. “I also know why you’re here. You know I’m needed by the Blue Suns right?”

Amanda looked at her and said, “Yes, we know.”

Miranda added, “I didn’t want you to change your position, but I was hoping we could be a family. I’d even give you a place in my company.”

Chloe waved her off. “Family reunions are fine. A place is not necessary since I run the Suns. Buuuuut… I think it wouldn’t be a problem to have stock in your company.”

Miranda smiled and said, “Well… then… welcome to the family.”

Chloe stood up and held her arms open. Miranda and Amanda moved up and hugged her. Chloe looked at Amanda and said, “So you were the first?”

Amanda nodded and said, “Hope you don’t mind?”

Chloe chuckled. “You kidding, I always wanted an older sister. And yes, I believe you’re worthy of love.”

Amanda smiled and said, “Thank you. Not sure if I want to change my name back, but thank you.”

Miranda let out a breath and said, “I… I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”

Chloe laughed and said, “Mags and Oracle helped convince me.”

Amanda smiled and said, “Well… do you feel like meeting the other sisters?”

Chloe chuckled and said, “I’m off for a week, so sure. And I can’t wait to ride on Normandy.”

Jon chuckled and said, “Sure. But let’s wait for Ori and the others. They went to get Flo.”

Chloe looked at them in surprise. “Flo? She’s almost as popular as Iron Fist.”

Miranda and Jon said at the same time, “We know.” The group chuckled at that.

Flo walked out of the back rooms, holding hands with Sesa who had a big smile on her face. Flo looked at the group and said, “I don’t know what you all said to her, but thank you.”

Jack nodded and said, “No problem. Now… uh…”

Oriana smiled and said, “Florence, I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’m your sister.”

Flo stared at her for a couple moments then started laughing. “I’m adopted. And an only child.”

Oriana sighed and said, “I know you’re adopted Flo. And big.” She blushed looking at the taller woman and asked, “Notice anything similarities with me?”

Flo moved up and looked down at her. “Well… I’ll be damned. They said there’s a twin out there for everyone in the universe.”

Oriana slapped her forehead. “Do we need to do a DNA examination?”

Flo looked away and asked, “No. Why would you want someone like me as a sister?”

Sesa looked at her in surprise and gasped. “What about me?”

Flo turned to her and said, “Two things, Sesa. First, you’re like me, a little broken inside because you didn’t finish your pilgrimage. Two, and more importantly… you chose to love me even though I loved you since I first saw you.”

Sesa blushed and nodded. She leaned up and kissed Flo, her body being stronger than in the past thanks to the Geth, and pulled back, smiling at Flo. She then looked deep into Flo’s eyes and said, “Look, Flo, we’re both loners, that’s true, and maybe… maybe we shouldn’t be alone anymore. You have someone that wants to be in their family. I say take it.”

Oriana smiled and said, “We’re all broken in one way or another. Mine is not as bad as yours or Jack’s, but I was still hurt.”

Flo looked at Jack, the question etched all over her face. Jack smirked sadly and said, “I was kidnapped, held for five years and raped by criminals and mercenaries. That’s why all my tattoos. I wanted them to numb the pain.”

Flo nodded and looked at Oriana. “And you still dated her?”

Oriana chuckled. “I married her. I love her. To use a phrase from where I live now, she’s my true love.”

Flo breathed in her nose slowly and then let it out quickly. She turned to Sesa who smiled brightly at her. “Remember the long nights when you would sometimes lament about not having a family? This is your chance.”

Flo looked deep in Sesa’s eyes and said, “But I also said I didn’t deserve it.”

Jack moved up and said, “Look Flo, none of us deserve the families we have. I belong to five, to be honest with you. I have my birth father, my adopted family, my extended Auradon family, my Normandy family, and Ori’s family. I’ve been through a lot of shit in my life, not all of it good, but I am so fucking happy to have every family member I have. My adopted family is huge, but they always had time for me. My Auradon family is huge, and they have time for me.” Gil, Lonnie, Jay and Yuan all waved at her. “I don’t always get along with Ori’s sister, we have a bit of an antagonistic relationship, but she’s Ori’s sister, so I accept her. You’re Ori’s sister, too, so…” Jack held out her hand.

Flo looked down at it then back up at Jack. She smirked with sad eyes, but she took it and shook it. Sesa clapped happily then hugged Flo. Flo blushed and nodded. “I hope I don’t come to regret this.”

Jack chuckled and asked, “You gonna regret having me as a sister-in-law?”

Flo snorted and said, “You? No. I think you’re cool.”

Jack nodded and said, “Then follow us to the Normandy.”

Flo’s eyes went wide. “The Normandy? No shit?”

Jack smiled and said, “No shit.”

Oriana chuckled. “Our sister’s husband brought us.”

Flo started to back up and said, “Woah, we are related to the Shepards? THE Shepards?”

Jack laughed and said, “Yeah we are. The Dorks.”

Flor snorted and asked, “Dorks?”

Jack nodded. “To this day, Jon still makes jokes about his wife and me having a thing for each other.”

Flo started laughing. “Ok ok. I’ll try and play it cool.”

Sesa smiled then asked, “Do you know what happened to the Xaera?”

Jack frowned and said, “It was lost during the quarian attempt to retake the home world before Jennifer Shepard was able to bring them to a peace accord. Other than that, I don’t know what happened to the crew. I’m sorry.”

Sesa looked down. “I… I wasn’t sure. I knew there was a peace between my people and the geth. But… no one would tell me if the Xaera had even survived the war.”

Oriana walked up and took Sesa’s hand. “Look, it’s only been about three years since the end of the war. It’s been two since the universe was rebuilt thanks to the help of Starfleet and the Tesh’rei Alliance helped us rebuild. We’re still trying to find all those that had passed away and survived.”

Sesa nodded and sighed. “I know. I didn’t know if you heard any more than that?”

Oriana shook her head then hugged her tight. “You’ll have us.”

Sesa hugged back and replied, “Thank you.”

Flo looked at this and smiled. She made the right choice, seeing her lover and her new sister accepting each other. Oriana pulled back and headed over to Jack. Jack smiled and asked, “Shall we?”

Flo smiled as she pulled Sesa close and the two headed out.

They soon came up to where the Normandy was docked and saw Miranda, Amanda and Chloe standing out front. Miranda smiled and waved at the group walking up.

Oriana ran up and hugged Miranda then Amanda. She looked at Chloe who waited and then held her arms open. Oriana hugged her and smiled. She pulled back then said, “I should be mad you’re Blue Suns.”

Chloe laughed and said, “I had nothing to do with Purgatory; that was set up by Kuril and approved by Vido. Vido’s dead and I’m in charge now. And trust me, that won’t happen again. We set up a new Purgatory to hold the worst of criminals like before, but every criminal is vetted by the Shadow Broker and Oracle. Any planet that can’t pay and the criminal is really bad in either one’s eyes they can cover for the planet to help run operations. We already had that happen with a couple of criminals. Oracle went into a deep dive on them as did Shadow Broker. It won’t happen again.”

Oriana sighed and nodded. “Alright. Alright, I’ll believe you. Oracle will let me know if you screw up.”

Chloe smiled and nodded. She looked up at Flo and said, “Hey Flo.”

Flo smiled and said, “Hey Chloe. Didn’t know we were sisters. But now that I’m looking, I can see the resemblance.”

Chloe nodded and said, “Mags gave me the whole story. Apparently Henry Lawson wanted to create a Dynasty, but the only way to do that would be to have a perfect creation, a perfect clone. Amanda here, you, me, two others were stepping stones. He then worked Miranda to almost death, never gave her praise, until he thought she was successful and wanted to go with a new creation, Oriana, who would be his perfect one. Miranda stole Oriana, and dropped her off in an orphanage, Amanda picked her up and raised her as her own.”

Flo whistled and looked at Miranda. “I’m impressed, Miss Lawson.”

Miranda nodded and said, “Thank you. So you know who I am?”

Flo chuckled. “Who doesn’t? The woman who took over her father’s company and made it into something to help the galaxy, not just humanity. Being with Sesa, I have more of an interest in helping aliens.”

Miranda chuckled and said, “Working with aliens has never been a problem for me. If I worked just with humans, I never would have been able to protect my sister as long as I did.”

Flo smiled and said, “Well, that makes sense. Might as well ask, since we’re sisters and all, what do you want from me?”

Miranda smiled a bit and asked, “Would you like to help me run the company?”

Flo chuckled darkly at that. “I’m a brawler, not a thinky think person. You’d do better with Sesa here on your staff than with me.”

Sesa looked at Flo with love in her eyes. She was happy Flo had that much confidence in her.

Miranda nodded and asked, “How good are your mathematics and engineering skills?”

Sesa smiled and said, “Pretty decent for a quarian who never finished her pilgrimage.”

Miranda smiled. “From what I know, that’s still better than most humans. And you prefer to work remotely?”

Sesa squeezed Flo’s hand and said, “I like staying near my lover.”

Miranda thought about it for a few minutes then replied, “Alright. As soon as I can work something up, I’ll get you started on a remote system. We’ve been having a few computing problems and I think you might be able to help us.”

Sesa smiled wide and then hugged Miranda. She pulled back and turned to Flo, kissing her.

Miranda chuckled and looked at Ori. Ori had a huge smile on her face. She was getting her entire family for the first time in her life.

***

To say that Joanna was nervous was an understatement. She was using her personal craft to head to a colony that could possibly hate aliens. Terra Nova had been attacked by batarians during Sovereign’s attack. This put many colonists on edge when it comes to aliens. They feel aliens can’t be trusted, despite the fact that Commander Jennifer Shepard brought her alien crew members to help protect the colony. Joanna wondered how they would treat her bondmate, Xanossha, when they arrived. As she flew in, she got confirmation to land at a large residential building. They had a landing pad for just such an occasion.

The Colony of Terra Nova was beautiful. The satellite X57 had aided in giving the planet the moon it needed to keep the tides in check and assist in getting the methane and carbon dioxide counts down. The population of the planet was high, but this lone building was cut off from the others. They flew through the clouds, again a product of X57 being in orbit, and landed on the landing pad. Joanna got out first wearing her white wife beater tank top and green camo pants. She looked around to see if there were any snipers or anyone who would do her bondmate and child any harm. She still didn’t trust anything she saw until a woman who looked much like her, but with blonde hair walked up.

The blonde smiled and said, “Welcome Joanna. I’m Helena Addison. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She came up holding her hand out.

Joanna took it and shook. She kept looking around with her eyes and replied, “Nice to meet you too. A little eerie looking at someone who shares the same face as I do.”

Helena shrugged and said, “To be honest, I’m used to it.”

Joanna looked at her and asked, “How so?”

Helena smiled sadly. “People look at me and think I’m Miranda Lawson with blonde hair.” She paused for a moment and added before Joanna could say anything, “Where is your bondmate?”

Joanna said, “I’m not telling you until I know she will be safe.”

Helena sighed. “I know you’ve heard we can be xenophobic, but we’ve had good relations with with asari. If you look at our population, we have a few human/asari families on this planet. It’ll be ok.”

Joanna nodded and turned to her ship. She said, “It’s ok, Xan.”

Xanossha stepped out of the ship holding the baby. Helena looked at the baby and oohed and awed her. She moved up and asked, “What’s her name?”

Xan smiled and said, “Celize.”

Helena rubbed her hand over the baby’s head and said, “Hello Celize, you pretty girl.”

Joanna breathed in deeply and let it out slowly, smiling as she did. She was still on edge, but she was happy her possible older sister was happy with her family. She said, “Helena, can we speak inside?”

Helena turned to look at her and nodded. “My husband is in a business meeting and shall be busy for most of the day. Come in and take a load off.” She then led inside.

Joanna looked at Xan and smiled awkwardly. Xan giggled quietly and followed. Joanna pulled up the rear, making sure that no one would try and snipe them.

Inside, the room was luxurious and spacious. Joanna whistled then said, “Reminds me of our apartment before I quit.”

Helena nodded and asked, “Did you get a new job?”

Joanna chuckled and said, “Yeah. From my sister.”

Helena smiled. “Good. You’ll have to forgive me, but I don’t like being in the spotlight. So living here has been enough for me. People come to visit and I do my best to be a good hostess. Many of them are my husband’s business associates. So tell me, Joanna, what brings you to my home?”

Joanna took another deep breath. She let it out slowly as she asked, “How much did Oracle tell you?”

Helena blushed and said, “Not much. Just that you’d be coming by with your bondmate and child to discuss business with me.”

Joanna nodded as she made her way over to an expensive looking couch, Xan sitting next her. Joanna waited until Helena sat near them in an expensive looking chair and asked, “Did you ever wonder why you looked like Miranda Lawson?”

Helena shook her head and said, “Not really. They say there is a double for everyone out in the galaxy.”

Joanna nodded and said, “You’re more right than you know. Were you adopted?” Helena nodded, but looked concerned waiting for the answer. Joanna took another deep breath and said, “You’re a clone of a man named Henry Lawson. As am I and Miranda.”

Helena looked down and frowned. “I had a feeling. I had a feeling as soon as you arrived.”

Joanna nodded and said, “It’s not a bad thing. You have five other sisters out there besides me. And we want you to join the family.”

Helena looked up at her and asked, “Do they look like us?”

Joanna let out a hearty laugh. “No. Just you, me and Miranda. The others look more like our youngest sister Oriana. Apparently our father gave only three of us the ‘beauty’ treatment. Oriana got lucky because Miranda stole her before he could do too much.”

Helena nodded and looked away. “So what is it you and Miranda want from me?”

Xan sat up straighter and said, “What my bondmate and her sisters want is for you to join their family.”

Helena shook her head. “No. No, I think not. I have all that I need here and I don’t need anything else.”

Joanna frowned and said, “You've been worried all your life that someone would take this away from you, didn’t you? That Miranda would take away your family, your wealth, your prestige.”

Helena looked up at her with a glare in her eyes. “The first one was spot on, but the last two… how dare you insinuate…”

Xan held up her hand and said, “Our apologies for the presumption. Joanna went through a bit of a crisis of conscience about that fact. She thought Miranda had stolen all of that from her. Instead, Miranda is giving it back to her.”

Helena nodded and sighed looking down again.

Joanna looked to Xan and it was like the two were having a conversation with their eyes. They turned back to Helena as Joanna asked, “How much would you like to have children of your own?”

Helena looked up at her and said, “More than anything. But it’s impossible. I thought about adopting, but it didn’t feel right. And I don’t know how people would feel about cloning. One of the reasons I don’t mind hiding. I had a feeling I was a clone for some time, but I couldn’t discover it until you confirmed my feelings.”

Joanna smiled and said, “Look, our sister’s mother-in-law is a Doctor. She found a way to fix Miranda. I’m sure she would be willing to share it with you.”

Helena frowned looking up again. “Only if I joined with the family of course.”

Joanna frowned now and said, “I don’t think she would be that cruel. Just need to ask her ourselves. Only problem is, how do we contact her without Jack around?”

Xan smiled as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a small Star Trek comm badge. She pressed the middle and said, “Mister Ranor?”

A voice responded, “This is his daughter, Donna. Sorry my dad can’t come to the call right now. He was called away for an engineering emergency. Anything I can do to help?”

Joanna leaned over and said, “This is Joanna Lawson. Is there any chance your mother could come to our current location, Donna?”

Donna was silent for a moment then replied, “Yes she can. There’s no medical emergency as of yet. And I just checked your location, so I can open a portal there as soon as I contact her.”

Joanna smiled and said, “Thanks. See her soon.” Xan hit the center again.

Helena had a look of confusion on her face as she asked, “Portal?”

Joanna chuckled and said, “They’re from another universe. I experienced that when I met our youngest sister’s wife.”

Helena nodded, but still looked confused. “So the youngest is gay. You’re… gay I’m going to guess…”

Xan nodded and added, “And Flo, the one older than you, is gay.”

Helena nodded. “Amanda, me and Miranda are straight?”

Joanna nodded. “Chloe is Ace, but not Arom. She married a guy she liked and helped him raise his daughter so that she could have a mother in her life.”

Helena nodded and asked, “Doesn’t that make her straight?”

Joanna shook her head. “She has no sexual inclination. She just loved the man and wanted to help him and his daughter.”

Helena nodded as a blue doorway opened up and Doctor Kitana Ranor walked out. She was wearing a blue and black spandex outfit that had her arms and cleavage exposed as well as her back. Her mouth and nose were covered by a mask and she had her hair up in a bun. She had silver pointy shoulder pads and a silver small belt around her waist. Her fingerless gloves were blue and went up her arms above her elbows. Her boots were knee high and black with silver highlights. She had two folded up fan blades, one on each side, hanging from her belt and a phaser hanging on her right hip. She pulled down her mask and smiled. “Greetings. I am Kitana Ranor. Forgive the way I look. I was negotiating some concerns the Shokan had with the Edenians.” She reached up and removed the pin from her hair before taking off the ring at the top. Her hair spilled out and hung low, almost to her rear.

Helena looked surprised at the spill of hair. She asked, “How did you keep that much hair in such a small bun?”

Kitana chuckled and said, “Edenian magic. Normally I keep my hair in a ponytail, but I needed to look like my counterpart, Kitana Kahn, for this one. Please don’t ask, there’s too many small details to go over.”

Helena nodded and said, “I hear you have a way to fix it so I can have children.”

Kitana nodded and said, “I was putting a few finishing touches on it before presenting it to Doctor Chakwas. It will be free to any woman who wished to have children, but couldn’t beforehand.”

Helena looked at her surprised. “And you wished to give that for free?”

Kitana nodded. “If it is out there, it can be more affordable. I sometimes think about people in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. There just wasn’t enough medical supplies and doctors to make healthcare free. Also, the high insurance premiums the hospitals had to pay in case they were sued were ridiculous. If you wanted to keep costs down, you had to cap off how much people could sue doctors, find a way to bring the price of medicine down, and help make more of it so that people could get what they needed.”

The three women looked at her like she had gone nuts.

Kitana sighed and said, “Sorry, I was ranting again. I had to live through it. I helped those I could where I could, but I couldn’t save everyone. I was only one woman and I had other responsibilities.”

Joanna was the first to speak up. “I… I understand I think.”

Xan nodded. “And you needed sleep. Yes I understand.”

Helena looked at Kitana and asked, “And what if I decide not to rejoin the Lawson family?”

Kitana turned to her and smiled. “You’ll still get the help you want. I only want to help people, believe me. But know this, you may get to choose who your family is, but you can’t choose where you came from. You’re a clone much like Joanna here, or my daughter-in-law and her sister. But just know, the Council has accepted clones as unique living beings. The Shepard Clone, Quinn, is a respected member of the Council Military. As long as you’re not an exact clone, or you’ve had different life experiences, you are considered a regular person by Council Law.”

Helena’s eyes went wide. “The Council and their worlds won’t look down on me because I’m a clone?”

Kitana shook her head with a smile. “They are willing to accept you for who you are, Helena. You’re not a clone. You were created by Henry Lawson taking his own x chromosomes, doubling them and creating a daughter. You’re his daughter more than a clone. But still, the Council has no objection to you.”

Helena’s eyes started to water as she jumped up and hugged Kitana. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Kitana hugged back and chuckled. “You’re welcome. Now, if you want, I can do the procedure personally. Was planning to for Miranda as well. And any of the other sisters that want it.”

Helena nodded and said, “That would be… wonderful.” She turned to Joanna and said, “I think… I think I would like to meet the family now. Though I’d like to bring my husband along so if you don’t mind waiting until he gets home.”

Joanna chuckled and said, “It’s fine.”

That was when Celize decided to become a fussy baby as she started crying. Xan smiled and said, “Whoops, I think it’s feeding time.” She proceeded to lift her top and expose herself so that she could feed her little one.

Joanna smiled watching her bondmate as she did that.

***

November 7th, 2189.

Admiral Jennifer Shepard had just finished her speech honoring the heroes who had died two years ago and the years before that thanks to the Reapers. The Council, which consisted of Tevos, Urdnot Bakara, David Anderson, Valern, Quentius, Grothan Pazness the Batarian Councilor and Shala’Raan vas Citadel the Quarian Councilor, stood in reverence and listened to Jennifer praise the soldiers and civilians that died and the ones that survived. She thanked the soldiers for their sacrifice on behalf of herself, her family which included her wife Samantha and their adopted Krogan son, Chosk, on behalf of the Shepard Family, and on behalf of all the races in Citadel space. The crowd cheered that comment and Shepard opened the festivities of N7 day. Included in that were speeches given by Normandy Crew Members and leaders of the different worlds who survived the war and lived to tell the tale. Jessica Shepard didn’t care too much for being there, but she came out of respect for the fallen.

Many were gathered around a stage with Jonathan and Miranda Lawson-Shepard. Jonathan said, “Greetings. I know you all will want to hear some of my and Miranda’s stories, but Miranda wished to say something first.” He stepped aside and Miranda took the microphone.

As soon as Miranda walked up, six women walked up behind her. Five were to the left and one to the right. Miranda said, “Greetings. As many of you know, I am a product of Henry Lawson’s mind. The man wanted to create a dynasty for himself that would allow him to carry on even after his death. To that end, he took his own DNA, the X chromosome, and doubled it. In the process he tried to make the next clone better than the previous one. There were six attempts to get what he thought was the perfect one, my younger sister Oriana. The others were to be disposed of. However, his assistant took pity on the girls and sent them to adoption agencies to be adopted into families. It wasn’t until one of these girls, Joanna, my older sister, did I find out about this. Because of her finding me, I discovered that my sister’s mother was actually the first clone, Augusta, and she took care of Ori for me. And now, thanks to Augusta, or Amanda as she is now known, I have a family. The Lawson sisters are finally together. Let me introduce Amanda, Chloe, Florence, Helena, Joanna, Miranda, and Oriana Lawson.”

The crowd cheered as the women all stepped forward, their significant others came up behind them. They all waved to the crowd. Jack smiled as she hugged Ori from behind, her belly starting to be noticeably bigger, even if slightly.

Miranda smiled, her family being accepted by those who knew and appreciated the work she did with the Normandy crew.

Joanna smiled at being accepted as well. She had her family, and now, thanks to Jack Ranor, a huge extended family, but she was happy to just be a Lawson. She knew she deserved it, but this was different. She earned it, not just deserved it. That… that made it more special. She still couldn’t believe this all started with mistaking Jack as Miranda’s lover and trying to kill her. She’s happy Jack didn’t retaliate as badly as she could. Now she could live the life she dreamed of. Just… with sisters instead of a cruel father who probably would have replaced her regardless of how much she tried to please him. Having kind sisters who accepted her for who she was, Amanda the home maker, Chloe the mercenary, Flo the fighter, Helena the rich bride, Miranda the CEO, and Oriana the princess, it was enough for Joanna. These were the family ties that bound her life together and she was happy.


End file.
